How to Update to iOS 8 with Ease

How to Update to iOS 8 with Ease

iPhone, iPad, and iPod owners: it's about that time again. iOS 8 is set for public release on September 17th, and those who have been eager to update since Apple's WWDC announcement won't be waiting too much longer. And the eagerness is understandable, since iOS 8 promises to pack a bunch of new, really great features.

The iOS 8 update should be available to download as early as 1PM ET. There are two ways to update your system, just make sure that your device has at least 50% battery and that you've cleared plenty of storage space—you'll need about 3GB of space.

Over the Air (OTA) Update

The easiest way to update your device is to do an OTA update. To check availability and download once it is, simply we can go to Settings -> General -> Software Update.

Tap on the available update and hit Install—all you'll need is a strong Wi-Fi connection. But, given Apple's previous history with server overloads and millions of people downloading the update at the same time, it's always more reliable to update via iTunes.

Update with iTunes

To update with iTunes, simply plug in your device, select it from the sidebar, and in the Summary section, click Check for Update.

Click Download and Update and sit back while iOS 8 is added to your device.

If You Are Jailbroken

If you are jailbroken, you'll have suck it up and say goodbye. There currently isn't a jailbreak method for iOS 8, so anyone with a jailbroken device that wants to update to iOS 8 will lose their jailbreak. Just make sure to create a list of all your jailbroken apps and Cydia downloads so you can go back and get them once a jailbreak method is released for iOS 8.

Also, OTA updates are usually not available for jailbroken phones, so you'll have to update via iTunes. Connect your device and make sure to back everything up, and then select Restore. It should restore and update to the latest OS available, but if not, simply check for updates once the phone is restored.

Beta Testers & Developers

If you're coming from the beta builds of iOS 8, updating to the public release may not be as groundbreaking as coming from iOS 7, but is still something you will want to do, especially with all the bugs that were squashed.

The process is a little different than the ones listed above. You must download the IPSW file once it is made available on the 17th before moving on.

Plug your device into your computer and open iTunes. Select your device and then use the alternate click on the Check for Updates button. For Mac users, press Option + click and for Windows, press Shift + click. Now find the IPSW file you just download and select it.

If you decided to download and install the Gold Master build of iOS 8, then you're already running the same version that the public will receive tomorrow. Basically, you won't have any updating to do until the next patch of iOS 8, most likely version 8.0.1.